Geological Aspects of the Formation and Distribution of Gas Anomalies in Bottom Sediments of the New Siberian Sedimentary Basin and Adjacent Geostructures of the East Siberian Sea

Abstract

—In bottom sediments of the New Siberian sedimentary basin and adjacent geostructures of the East Siberian Sea, we identified СН4, as well as its limit and unsaturated homologues (up to and including C5H12), CO2, CO, H2, He, H2S, O2, N2, and Ar. Isotope-gas-geochemical parameters δ13С СО2, СН4 and С2Н6, of the molecular mass of hydrocarbon fraction and genetic coefficients indicate the presence of both syngenetic and epigenetic gases of various gas sources in sediments, including recent sediments, peatlands, coal-bearing and gas-bearing formations, solid bitumen, igneous formations, accumulations of gas hydrates and prognostic condensate-gas, condensate, oil-and-gas and gas-and-oil reservoirs. Concentrations of CO2 and CO reach 29.25 and 0.06 cm3/kg, CH4 and the sum of its homologues – 5.93 and 0.031, Н2 and He – 0.78 and 0.318, H2S – 0.092 cm3/kg; this indicates that gas-geochemical anomalies, exceeding the anomaly criteria by 6–124 times, form in bottom sediments. The formation and distribution of abnormal concentrations of natural gases depend on the complex influence of gas-controlling factors – geological structure, fold and fault tectonics, magmatism, coal-oil-gas content, bituminous content, organic saturation, lithological composition, water-physical and reservoir properties of sediments, hydrogeological, geocryological and other conditions for accumulation of natural gases or their degassing.